Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS
The Iowa Idea: Paidi O’Reilly
“We have to innovate the way we innovate.”
In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Paidi O’Reilly. This is another show that draws on the connections between Iowa and Cork.
Paidi is an innovation specialist, lecturer, and trainer focused on building innovation teams that pursue bolder targets by thinking bigger, starting smaller, but moving faster. He has guided and mentored individuals and teams innovating in EMC, Dell, Motorola, VMWare, IBM, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Central Bank, and Bank of Ireland, among others. In 2011 he was awarded a PhD for his action-based research into the innovation models of organizations. He is Co-Founder and Chair of the Digital Transformation Lab at Cork University Business School, which is a peer learning network for sharing digital transformation best practices. He is Co-Founder of the Action Design Research Seminar Series in Cork University Business School for professionals doing high quality practice-oriented research. He is Co-Director of the ‘Innovation through Design Thinking’ postgraduate program at University College Cork.
Paidi and I dig into effectual innovation as a proven way of kickstarting innovation in organizations that leads to an organic shift in mindset, skillset, behavior, and ultimately culture. From his decades of experience with innovation practices at the ready, we talk about what works, what doesn’t, and the organizational gap between the importance and desire executives place on innovation and the lack of sustainable innovation found in most organizations. We discuss the power of small teams, working with the resources that we have at hand, the importance of feedback and learning through our prototypes. These prototypes don’t need to be physical, they can be stories, or diegetic prototypes. I loved Paidi’s framing of reverent irreverence. Which reminds me of a sign my grandfather had hanging above his bar – “Irish diplomacy, the art of telling someone to go to hell and having them look forward to the trip.”
I appreciated Paidi’s perspective related to technology, innovation, and teams, and why the “human bit” is really the hard part. We need to enable and empower our innovation teams if we’re to realize the power and potential of innovation. We talk about design and the importance of humanity-centered design, as we are confronted with large-scale, truly wicked problems. We look at the fabric of an innovation ecosystem, the importance of diverse teams, the need to be intentional, and a bias for action, as critical elements for the futures that we design and how we might create the potential for the people in the ecosystem to be their best selves.
It was a pleasure having Paidi join me on the podcast. I look forward to the time I can join Paidi for a pint in Cork and swap more stories about innovation. I hope you enjoy the episode. Slàinte!
About Paidi
Paidi is an Innovation Specialist, Lecturer, and Trainer focused on building innovation teams that pursue bolder targets by thinking bigger, starting smaller, but moving faster. Effectual innovation is a proven way of kickstarting innovation in organizations that leads to an organic shift in mindset, skillset, behavior, and ultimately culture. Paidi has over 28 years of experience working on and leading innovation projects in a range of leading organizations. He has guided and mentored individuals and teams innovating in EMC, Dell, Motorola, VMWare, IBM, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Central Bank, Bank of Ireland, AIB, etc. In 2011 he was awarded a PhD for his action-based research into the innovation models of organizations. Paidi has a track record of delivering national and international innovation talks, seminars, and workshops. He is Co-Founder and Chair of the Digital Transformation Lab at Cork University Business School, which is a peer learning network for sharing digital transformation best practices. He is Co-Founder of the Action Design Research Seminar Series in Cork University Business School for professionals doing high quality practice-oriented research. He is Co-Director of the ‘Innovation through Design Thinking’ postgraduate programme at University College Cork.
Links
Paidi on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paidioreilly
Paidi’s email: p.oreilly@ucc.ie
Credits
Episode produced by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/).
The Iowa Idea Podcast theme music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).